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US: INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY KEY IN TURKISH-ARMENIAN CASE
Agence France Presse
Jan 19 2012
(AFP) WASHINGTON ~W The United States said Thursday it has made clear
to Turkey that an independent and transparent judiciary is important
in the case of murdered ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
A Turkish court on Tuesday jailed a man for life for inciting Dink's
murder, but acquitted more than a dozen other suspects when it ruled
that his killing was not planned in a wider conspiracy, as alleged
by his supporters.
"We have regularly talked to the government of Turkey about this
case and others," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told
reporters.
Both the Turkish government and the Dink family expect that the case
will end up in an appeals court, "so we will continue to follow it and
not, from this podium or any other, prejudge the outcome," Nuland said.
Washington has made clear in this case "that we believe that an
independent and transparent judiciary and full accountability are
critical to all healthy democracies, including Turkey," she said.
When asked if Washington believed Turkey had such a judiciary, Nuland
replied: "It is incumbent on Turkey to ensure that their judicial
processes live up to those standards."
She said she was "not in the business of giving report cards on
people's judiciaries" when a reporter suggested she had failed to
offer a ringing vote of confidence in Turkey's legal system.
"They have a long history of an independent judiciary and I think
what is needed here is confidence that this case and others like it
are handled in a transparent way," Nuland said.
Thousands of people gathered in Istanbul Thursday to pay tribute to
Dink and to protest the court ruling. Television reports said around
20,000 people joined the demonstration.
A leading member of Turkey's tiny Armenian community, Dink, 52, was
shot dead in broad daylight on January 19, 2007, outside the offices
of his bilingual weekly newspaper Agos.
Dink had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians
and his assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey, growing into a
wider scandal following reports that state security forces had known
of a plot to kill him but failed to act.
From: Baghdasarian
Agence France Presse
Jan 19 2012
(AFP) WASHINGTON ~W The United States said Thursday it has made clear
to Turkey that an independent and transparent judiciary is important
in the case of murdered ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
A Turkish court on Tuesday jailed a man for life for inciting Dink's
murder, but acquitted more than a dozen other suspects when it ruled
that his killing was not planned in a wider conspiracy, as alleged
by his supporters.
"We have regularly talked to the government of Turkey about this
case and others," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told
reporters.
Both the Turkish government and the Dink family expect that the case
will end up in an appeals court, "so we will continue to follow it and
not, from this podium or any other, prejudge the outcome," Nuland said.
Washington has made clear in this case "that we believe that an
independent and transparent judiciary and full accountability are
critical to all healthy democracies, including Turkey," she said.
When asked if Washington believed Turkey had such a judiciary, Nuland
replied: "It is incumbent on Turkey to ensure that their judicial
processes live up to those standards."
She said she was "not in the business of giving report cards on
people's judiciaries" when a reporter suggested she had failed to
offer a ringing vote of confidence in Turkey's legal system.
"They have a long history of an independent judiciary and I think
what is needed here is confidence that this case and others like it
are handled in a transparent way," Nuland said.
Thousands of people gathered in Istanbul Thursday to pay tribute to
Dink and to protest the court ruling. Television reports said around
20,000 people joined the demonstration.
A leading member of Turkey's tiny Armenian community, Dink, 52, was
shot dead in broad daylight on January 19, 2007, outside the offices
of his bilingual weekly newspaper Agos.
Dink had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians
and his assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey, growing into a
wider scandal following reports that state security forces had known
of a plot to kill him but failed to act.
From: Baghdasarian